Shoe rack



Feb. 26, 1963 L. E,- BERNIER SHOE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 1, 1960 INV EN TOR.

FIG.4

A TTO RN EYS Feb.

Filed Nov.

1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE ATTQ EYS United States Patent Ofitice Bfilhdlill Iiatented Feb. 26, 1963 3,679,002 SHUE RACK Louis Edward Eernier, Rockland, Mass, assignor to E. T. Wright Co., Inc, Rocliland, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 1, was, Ser. No. 65,556 '7 Ciainis. (ill. 211-34) This invention relates to shoe racks, particularly of the kind that are employed in shoe factories to support and transfer shoes, during the ditferent stages of their manufacture, from one operation to the next. Conventionally, such racks have tiers of horizontally arranged, spaced parallel bars between which the shoes, in various stages of manufacture, are arranged in pairs, situated bottom up or bottom down, and alternately from one operation to the next, heel first or toe first. To economize in space the supporting bars are placed as close to each other as possible in each tier and likewise the tiers are closely spaced vertically in the rack. Because of this close spacing many shoes are damaged in process by physical contact of the projecting ends of lasting tacks and lasting wire of one with the other as they are placed on the rack or removed therefrom. This is further aggravated by the fact that time is of the essence and that operators in a hurry to keep abreast of production schedules are not as careful as they should be in handling the shoes as they place them on the racks and remove them therefrom.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a shoe rack with protecting separators between supports, which will eliminate all possibility of damage to shoes during process, inspite of careless handling and of the projecting ends of lasting tacks, lasting wire, and the iike, without reducing the efficiency of operation or slowing down production; to provide protective separators which can be cheaply and quickly replaced When worn out by readily available material and which are of sturdy and simple construction.

As herein illustrated, the rack comprises a support, spaced parallel, horizontally disposed bars fixed at their rear ends to the support so as to extend forwardly therefrom, the spaces between certain of the bars being wide enough to accommodate the upper part of a lasted shoe assembly placed therebetween, but narrower than the bottom of the shoe, there being an unrestricted gap between the forward ends of the bars corresponding to the spacing of the bars through which the shoe may be trust when disposed between the bars, and a yieldable separator fixed to each bar, lengthwise thereof, which rise above that portion of the shoe resting on the bars and which support protective shields at the sides of each shoereceiving space.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the front side of a shoe rack embodying the invention;

PEG. 2 is a plan view looking down at the top of FIG 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the rack comprises a supporting frame having a bottom 10, a back 12 and ends 14- and 16, the front and top being open. Wheels or casters 18 are fastened to the bottom- It) to support the frame for movement from one operation to the next in the factory. While shown of box-like construction the support may be comprised of open angle iron frames joined to form a rigid structure.

Vertically spaced tiers of bars 20 are fastened to the rear wall 12, so as to project horizontally forwardly therefrom toward the open front side of the frame. Each tier is comprised of bars arranged in groups of three, so that the centrally located bar of each group provides a common support for a pair of adjacent shoes, there being three such groups shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. The spaces between the adjacent bars of each group are wide enough to accommodate the upper part of a shoe placed therebetween, but are narrower than the bottom of the shoe, so that when a shoe is placed between the bars; either bottom side up, in which case the upper part of the last will extend downwardly between the bars, or bottom side down, in which case the upper part of the shoe will extend upwardly from the bars; the shoe will be supported in such a manner as not to slip through. The forward ends of the bars provide an unrestricted opening of the same width as the spacing of the bars through which the shoe may be thrust when it is placed on the bars.

To assist in holding the bars up a transversely extending support 24 is fastened to the ends 14 and 16 beneath each tier of bars, forwardly of the back wall 12 and to preserve their lateral spacing a stringer 26 is fastened between the ends 14 and 15 above the bars. Fastening means such as nails, screws or the like, may be inserted through the stringer 26 into the support 24.

A separator 28 is mounted on each of the bars 2t} and is comprised of a frame 36 of bent wire, the sinuosities of which lie in a single plane. The rear end of the frame has a horizontally projection portion 32 which is driven into the rear wall 12 above the bar 2i and the forward end has a vertically projecting portion 34 which is driven into the rod 26. The frame extends longitudinally of the rod, is of flexible construction and supports a cover 36 comprised of the material which is yieldable and will not be damaging to the upper of a shoe having contact therewith. The cover, as shown, is tubular in form and is stretched fiat over the frame so that it is held taut and so that its sides will be parallel with reference to the supporting bars 2%. It is within the scope of the invention however to use any tubular material such as a section of rubber, plastic or fabric hose, or to employ sheet material of any kind by sewing the ends of suitable lengths together to form a tube which may be slipped onto the frame. As herein illustrated, a wide rubber band is employed which, for convenience, may be cut from an automobile inner tube. The character of the material of the covering in any event should be chosen to give the most protection to the upper according to its delicacy. The frame and the cover are so dimensioned that in height the separator will extend upwardly from the bar by at least the depth of the shoe placed between the bars, bottom side down, and the upper and lower edges of the cover should parallel, respectively, the upper edge of the frame and the upper side of the bar.

The separators as thus constructed are comprised of easily available material and where herein illustrated as used with a rack in which the supporting bars are arranged in a particular grouping, it is obvious that the separators may be mounted on any rack in which spaced parallel, horizontally disposed bars are employed for supporting lasted shoes.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe rack for supporting lasts with shoe assemblies thereon, comprising a support, spaced parallel, horizontally disposed bars fixed at their rear ends to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, the spaces between certain of the bars being wide enough to accommodate the upper part of a shoe placed therebetwcen bottorn up, but narrower than the bottom of the shoe, there being an unrestricted gap between the forward ends of said bars corresponding to the spacing of the bars through which the shoe may be thrust when disposing it between the bars, and-a separator fixed to the'upper side of. each bar and extending lengthwise thereof, which rises above that portionof the upper exposed above the bars, each separator comprising a yieldable supporting element disposed inavertical plane, and a continuous fiexiole member coveringthe yieldable supporting element.

2; A shoe rack for supporting lasts with shoe assem bliesthereon, comprising asupport, spaced parallel, hori-.

zontally disposed bars fixed at their rear ends to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, the spaces between certain of the bars being wideienoughto accommodate theupper part: of ashoe placed therebetween bottom up, but narrower than the bottomvoithe. shoe, there being an unrestricted gap. between the forward ends ofv saidbarscorresponding tothe spacing oithe bars through whichzthe shoemay be. thrust wherndisposing it between the bars, and a separator. fastened to the upper side of each bar and extending lengthwise thereof, whichrises.

above thebar. by. at leastzthetdepth oftheshoeand cornprises a wire. frame disposed in a. vertical. plane withv one; end fixed to. the support and. the other end: to the bar,'.and an elastic band stretched, over. theframe.

3; A shoe rack. for: supportingyl-asts with. shoe assembliesthereon, comprising.- a; support, spaced parallel, horizontally disposedlbars fixedgat-their. rear. ends tothesup:

shoe: mayv bepthrust when disposing it between the bars,

anda sepaartor. fixed to .the-upperend of eachbar and extending lengthwise thereof; which-rises above the bar by atleast thedepth of the shoe, and comprises a bent wire frame havingsinuations, the sinuations at which liein a single; planeperpendicular to the bar, one end of the wire beingfixed to the support above the-bar,.wi th which it is associated, and the other end beingfixed to the bar itself,

and a flexible envelope stretched on the wire frame with its upper and iower edges coinciding'respectively, with the top of the frame and the top of the bar.

4. A shoe rack for supporting lasts with shoe assemblies thereon, comprising a support, spaced parallel, horizontally disposed bars arrangedou the support to provide adjacent pairs of supports, extendingforwardly therefrom, the spacing between the bars of each pair of supports being wide enough to accommodate the upper part of a shoe placed therebetween bottom up, but narrower than the bottom of the shoe, therebeing an unrestricted gap between the forward ends through which the shoes may be thrust. when placed on.the.support, and a separator fixed to each bar and extendinglengthwise thereofieachsepa rater comprising a wire. frame bent to. form a. plurality of supporting. sinuations disposed in a single planeperpendicular to. the bar, and a wide elastic. band; stretched on the frame.

5. Apparatus according to. claim 4, wherein the' lower endszof the sinuations bear on, the bar so. as to support the frame intermediate its ends 6.. For use with ashoe rack havingsupporting bars for supporting; a plurality of shoesside-by-sidea separator adapted to be, fixed to the upper side of. each supporting bar to protect thelasteduppen of a shoe placedbetween a pair of bars from the lasted upper of an; adjacent shoe, comprising a bent wire framehavingsinuations, the sinuations of which-lie ina single plane, mea ns.;for fastening the wire frame to the supporting bar, and a flexible covering stretched taut on the frame. with; its sides parallel thereto, the frame and covering being ofa height at least.

equal tothe depth of the lasted upper.

7. A separator according to claim 6, whereinthe cover is removable-to permit replacement-05a worn-out cover.

References Citedin; the file of this patent UNITED STATES. PATENTS 940,812 Hermann Nov. 23, 1909* 1,198,486 Beaumont Sept. 19; 1916. 1,270,817 Hammond Iuly 2, 19:18 

1. A SHOE RACK FOR SUPPORTING LASTS WITH SHOE ASSEMBLIES THEREON, COMPRISING A SUPPORT, SPACED PARALLEL, HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED BARS FIXED AT THEIR REAR ENDS TO THE SUPPORT AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY THEREFROM, THE SPACES BETWEEN CERTAIN OF THE BARS BEING WIDE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE UPPER PART OF A SHOE PLACED THEREBETWEEN BOTTOM UP, BUT NARROWER THAN THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOE, THERE BEING AN UNRESTRICTED GAP BETWEEN THE FORWARD ENDS OF SAID BARS CORRESPONDING TO THE SPACING OF THE BARS THROUGH WHICH THE SHOE MAY BE THRUST WHEN DISPOSING IT BETWEEN THE BAR, AND A SEPARATOR FIXED TO THE UPPER SIDE OF EACH BAR AND EXTENDING LENGTHWISE THEREOF, WHICH RISES ABOVE THAT PORTION OF THE UPPER EXPOSED ABOVE THE BARS, EACH SEPARATOR COMPRISING A YIELDABLE SUPPORTING ELEMENT DISPOSED IN A VERTICAL PLANE, AND A CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE MEMBER COVERING THE YIELDABLE SUPPORTING ELEMENT. 